


She's Old, It's About Time She Died.

by Sazzy260



Series: Dialogue Prompts [4]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-08 17:51:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14110782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sazzy260/pseuds/Sazzy260
Summary: Tony has a hard time letting go of his last connection to Kate, the human, but Gibbs is there and makes things just a little bit easier on Tony.





	She's Old, It's About Time She Died.

**Author's Note:**

> I could kick myself, honestly... I'm seriously hoping this is my last funk-induced story because I'm depressing myself even more as I keep writing the stories I've been writing ._. Oh well, we'll get through to the other side.

Tony tapped the glass to his fish tank, staring at Kate as the fish stared back at him.  Gibbs watched with an amused smirk on his face “What are you doing?” Gibbs asked, leaning back on the couch and crossing his ankles as he propped his feet up on the coffee table.

 

Tony shrugged as he continued tapping the glass lightly, watching as Kate chased his finger around “Watching Kate… She’s old, it’s about time she died.” Tony said, which paused his movements momentarily as he thought about why he’d said that in such a cruel way.

 

Gibbs snorted slightly, but the statement wasn’t lost on him and hit kind of hard “She’s not that old, and I don’t think either Kate would appreciate this conversation.” Gibbs said as he looked up at the ceiling briefly.

 

Tony sighed as he sat down on the floor in front of the fish tank “She’s been alive since Kate died, that was ten years ago Gibbs.  Goldfish only have a ten-year life expectancy in the confines of a tank…” Tony said informatively, continuing to trace his finger around the smooth globe of the fish tank.

 

“Well, don’t push her death… She’ll go when she’s ready…” Gibbs said as he stretched out and let out a monstrous yawn, letting his eyes close as the exhaustion of the day started really sinking in.

 

Tony stood up and sprinkled a small amount of food fish into the bowl, then turned towards Gibbs “C’mon, lets head up to bed…” Tony said as he walked over to Gibbs and then helped pull his lover up off the couch and led him upstairs to their bedroom.

 

The next morning, Tony came down to the living room to see Gibbs standing over the fishbowl, coffee mug in hand and a slight frown on his face “You have an uncanny insight into the future, don’t you?” Gibbs asked quietly, glancing over his shoulder at Tony before refocusing on the fishbowl.

 

Tony shook his head as he moved to stand beside Gibbs, frowning when he saw Kate floating in the tank, belly side up “No… I just had a gut feeling that her time was near.” Tony said quietly, reaching out and tapping at the glass bowl sadly.  Tony wouldn’t admit that he was heartbroken, not over a Goldfish, but he really was, this was his last grasp on Kate – the human – and he lost that too, albeit in a more peaceful manner than the real Kate’s untimely death.

 

Gibbs set his coffee mug down, sensing the sadness that his lover was emitting, and without a word, he turned to Tony and pulled the younger man against his chest and held on with a firm but loving grasp.  They didn’t really need words for the moment, Gibbs, while he wasn’t too overly fond of the fish – it really didn’t do anything except swim in the bowl – was a part of their lives as much as anything else they had.

 

Tony clung to Gibbs, thankful that the older man didn’t talk much or need to fill the silence with awkward condolences towards his lost fish.  When Tony calmed the rush of his emotions, he pulled away from Gibbs and picked up the net from the table and carefully lifted Kate from her bowl, he let the net dangle on the two edges of the bowl, letting the excess water drip away before he left the living room and went into the kitchen – he needed coffee before he did anything with Kate, and he needed to give the water time to dry so he didn’t ruin Gibbs’ hardwood floors.

 

Gibbs recollected his coffee mug and walked into the kitchen, silently watching as Tony doctored his coffee with the sugar and creamer, he had to say something to lighten the mood, he hated the dark cloud that was suddenly following Tony around, but he didn’t think a joke would work and he really didn’t have anything good at this moment so he went for concern instead “So, are you gonna be okay today?” Gibbs asked as he sat at the table, continuously watching Tony’s stiff movements.

 

Tony nodded and braced his hands on the counter, staring down at the coffee mug; he didn’t know why losing the goldfish was hitting him so hard… well, he did, but, god was it hard to get his feelings out into the open, despite him and Gibbs being in a relationship and being more open with each other about every other aspect of their lives, this was the hardest thing for some reason.

 

Gibbs stood up and walked over to Tony, hating even more how Tony tensed up when he set his hand on Tony’s back “Is there anything that I can do to help?” Gibbs asked softly, rubbing up and down Tony’s spine slowly and soothingly.

 

Tony inhaled deeply and nodded “Just get rid of her… I can’t right now.” Tony said weakly, grabbing his mug of coffee and heading out onto the back porch – they had to go to work soon but Tony felt suffocated inside and just needed some fresh air.

 

When Gibbs came out onto the back porch five minutes later, he sat behind Tony and wrapped one arm around his lover’s waist, kissing his bare shoulder lightly “Your boss has decided that today is a good day to play hooky from work.” Gibbs said as he rested his chin on Tony’s shoulder, staring out into his backyard, watching as the squirrels ran from tree to tree, chasing after one another.

 

Tony laid his head back against Gibbs’ other shoulder and lightly threaded his fingers through the fingers splayed across his chest “What about McGee and Bishop?” Tony asked quietly, closing his eyes as Gibbs began rubbing his stomach with his free hand.

 

Gibbs kissed the side of Tony’s neck lightly “Cold case reviews until tomorrow.  They’ll be fine without us for eight hours, I promise.” Gibbs said quietly as he ran both of his hands up and down Tony’s arms until he was at Tony’s shoulders and began gently massaging into them, slowly releasing the tension that had built up in his lover's body.

 

Tony nodded and let himself relax, his fingers gliding slowly over Gibbs’ bare thighs and knees “Kate, the fish, was my last connection to the real Kate… I bought her right after we got back from Indianapolis, knowing that a goldfish would be better suited for our job, she didn’t want for much and wasn’t going to trip me up or wake any of my neighbors… Kate was my first real pet, you know?” Tony asked, turning his head and looking up at Gibbs, tears dancing but not falling in his green eyes, Gibbs nodded and kissed the corner of Tony’s eye “I mean, I had the sea monkeys when I was a kid, but my mom drank them… How you mistake a sea monkey for an alcoholic beverage is beyond me, but still… I don’t even think sea monkeys can be considered actual pets…” Tony shrugged, kind of surprised that Gibbs was letting him ramble the way he was.

 

Gibbs had abandoned his massage for just laying his head on Tony’s shoulder and letting his lover’s words wash over him like waves on the beach; when Tony stopped talking, Gibbs opened his eyes and kissed Tony’s cheek lightly “I think we should give Kate a proper burial…” Gibbs said quietly as he reached behind him and pulled the small matchbox he’d brought out with him and held it out in front of Tony “It only seems fitting that we do it right, for both Kate’s.” Gibbs added as he watched Tony focus on the matchbox.

 

Tony nodded and set his hand on the small box “Next to the water fountain?  It seems appropriate…” Tony said as he looked towards the small birdbath that Gibbs had in the backyard.  Gibbs nodded and left the matchbox in Tony’s capable hands as he grabbed the spade from his outdoor work equipment and headed over to the fountain.

 

Gibbs dug out a small square in the ground, then looked over his shoulder at Tony.  Tony joined him and sat on the grass in front of the hole, he carefully lowered the box into the square hole and sighed “To the last of the Kate’s everywhere…” Tony said quietly as he sprinkled a handful of dirt over the matchbox and then watched as Gibbs drug the remaining dirt over the hole and smoothed the dirt down firmly.

 

After burying the goldfish, Gibbs and Tony laid back in the grass, their hands linked together as they stared up into the morning sky, and if either man noticed the goldfish-shaped cloud that floated over their heads slowly, neither mentioned it, they just held on a little tighter and continued watching as the clouds floated by and disappeared when colliding with the next.


End file.
